Rescue Me
by Cheeseburger of Doom
Summary: He's being used by a bunch of people that said "I want to be your friend." He was lonely. He's still lonely. He wants someone to rescue him. (some angsting of a less popular character)
1. Prologue

A/N: As always, I don't know much about anybody's family, except what is mentioned in passing in the anime...So I'll make some stuff up. Ah, and this is going to be unhappy at the beginning, since I like angst. I wanted to torture someone, I guess. Ah, the pain. Speaking of pain...Warning: This is kind of dark. Not as dark as it could be, considering I'm really twisted, but it's pretty unhappy. Actually, I'm hoping for a happy ending for him. Since he's so cute and all. Know who it is yet?

The R rating might be a bit high, but it's pretty heavily angsty and all, so...

****

Rescue Me

~Prologue~

He couldn't take it anymore. He had been trying to deal with everything for a long, long time, but he couldn't take any of it anymore.

He wanted to die. He wanted to slit his wrists and end it all, right now. He held the necessary broken glass in his hands...if he just...

Somewhere along the line, he'd heard that high school was supposed to be the best years of your life. He'd also heard that high school could be excruciatingly painful and that teenagers had it too rough, these days.

He'd always tended to believe in the first theory, but apparently the second theory was more true.

He'd entered high school with a smile on his face. He'd walked through the hallways with head held high, nodding at people he knew from junior high. He'd settled himself into a new routine quite easily; had been proud of himself for adjusting well, and then...

He'd run into _them_.

They'd ruined him. He shouldn't blame it on other people, really, since the fault lay with him, and not being able to resist; but he couldn't help but blame them a little. They'd come to him, smiled at him, asked him to join them...and how could he refuse an offer like that? Come with us, they said, we'll show you how to have fun...

Their fun wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind. He'd been shocked with what they'd asked him to do, and shocked with himself for agreeing to most of it. When he tried to refuse, they hurt him; hurt him badly enough that he could never move the next day. He spent so many hours lying in his bedroom, staring at the ceiling, wondering why they'd chosen him...wondering why he had to suffer like this. Wondering why, why...

I thought they liked me. I thought that they wanted to be friends. 

Of course he had trusted them at first. He was the type to trust anyone. He'd always been honest to a fault, and he had that much faith in people.

He'd discovered the truth, and the truth hurt. It hurt more than the severe beatings he'd been dealt from his new so-called friends. He longed for the friends he'd had in junior high...Then again, they hadn't really been his friends, anyway. Everyone on the tennis team had shared a sort of bond, but outside of that, he'd been alone. 

Naturally he'd agreed to the older boys who had said, come with us and be our friend...

Only friends don't make you do drugs so they can laugh at you; friends don't beat you when you refuse to do something that you think is wrong.

"Friends don't scar other friends," Dan Taichi mumbled into his pillow. He was crying again. He'd been crying every night for a long time. 

His parents were worried about him. They were worried why he consistently broke his curfew, and talked back to them, and did things that their precious son had never done before. They tried to ask him about it, but he wouldn't tell them.

He couldn't tell them. He was afraid that if he tried to tell anyone, then his _friends_ would come after him.

Afraid that if he told anyone, they would kill him.

Dan could lay on his bed considering suicide to escape from the pain of his life, but he didn't want to die. He wanted someone to come and save him from everything -- from loneliness, from _them_, from the world...from himself.

Help me.

There was only one thing that _they_ could do to him that would be worse than killing him. If they left him; if they stopped using him for their fun, then he would be all alone again.

He didn't want to be alone.

Help me.

~~~~~


	2. Part 1

A/N: Ah. When I first posted the prologue, there was a problem that involved me removing it and reposting it. Which means I lost a review (I think I only lost one) So...Yukuro, I didn't delete your review, I swear. It was such a nice review...*sniffle* Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed the prologue and...on with the fic!

Part 1

Dan Taichi had stopped hero-worshipping Akutsu Jin a long time ago. Well, it was about two years now, but it felt like forever. He hadn't even seen Akutsu since he'd graduated from junior high. 

They did not go to the same high school. It was a wonder that Akutsu had even made it into high school, anyway. Dan knew that he was not stupid, he was just the type to neglect his work, with a sneer on his face. His grades had never been terrific...Whereas Dan's had been exceptionally high. So, they were not in the same high school.

Dan's grades weren't very good anymore. He was on drugs; his brain really didn't function the way he needed it to in order to have good grades. After his first failure, he gave up even trying. It was no use. 

He didn't care anymore.

Dan missed Akutsu, sometimes. He missed having someone to look up to, someone to follow around...someone to beg for attention. Other times, he hated Akutsu for never really giving that attention.

All I wanted was a friend. All I wanted was for someone to care.

His mind wandered to Akutsu often, these days. He didn't really know why. Maybe he partly blamed Akutsu for all his problems now, since Akutsu had refused to be there for him way back when. Although he knew that it wasn't Akutsu's fault that he was fairly anti-social and didn't know how to deal with a super-genki kid who worshipped the ground he walked on.

No one on the team had ever really been that close to him. They'd viewed him as more of a team mascot than anything, the cute little kid who tried to collect data like the best of them.

I wonder what Akutsu-sempai would think of me now, he mused, as he stared out of the window. Little Da-da-da Dan! with bags under his eyes the size of Texas, scars all over, fresh bruises and scrapes every day...and needle marks in his arms. 

"Dan-kun! Stop daydreaming in my class!"

Dan gave the sensei a vacant look. The sensei took that to mean that he was paying attention, but he couldn't have been more wrong.

Dan Taichi was somewhere else; in a world where nothing existed. If nothing existed -- then nothing could hurt him.

That was how he wanted it to be.

Then again -- in a world where nothing existed, he would be alone again.

~~~~~

Dan Taichi didn't play tennis anymore. He hadn't played tennis since the beginning of his third year of junior high. He'd had some talent and a lot of potential, but he'd realized it just wasn't for him. There were other things he could be doing...He just didn't know what, yet.

He still didn't know what, even now, a year and a half later. He'd fully intended to join some sort of club in high school, but he'd ended up following _them_ instead, and now there seemed to be nothing that he could do. He was pretty useless for anything but going out with them, getting high, being their slave...letting them order him around...

Dan shuddered.

"Hey, Dan-chan..." _he_ snickered. _He _was the worst of all of them. _He _was the one who got them all the drugs, _he _was the one who had started the "Dan Game" and _he_ was the one who took advantage of little Dan Taichi the most.

"We're going out tonight for some fun," _he _said. "You're coming, right?"

Of course he would go. He always did. Did he have any choice.

"Hai!" Dan Taichi replied. His voice was still high. It had changed, just a little, but he was sure he would sound like a little kid forever. He would probably look like a little kid for the rest of his life...if he lived that long, that is.

If I look like a little kid forever, then people are going to keep taking advantage of me.

The thought made him sick.

"I got some of the stuff you like best. Look forward to it."

__

He winked, and walked away. Dan Taichi put his face into his hands, and tried not to cry in the middle of the hallway at school. 

The stuff I like the best? What he means is the stuff that makes me do whatever he wants...

Dan Taichi desperately wished for someone, anyone to save him. It was too late to save himself.

Help me...

~~~~~

"What's the matter, Dan-chan? Don't you like it?" _he _purred.

This wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last time.

"Of course I like it!"

"Then why are you crying?"

Dan wiped the tears away. "I'm not crying."

"That's what I like to hear."

It happened again, and again, and again. Dan always ended up in _his_ bed, with _him,_ and they always ended up...

The first time it happened was the first night they'd shot him full of drugs. Dan had awoken naked in _his _bed. He'd been more than a little frightened, but he hadn't even been able to scream.

He'd been gagged...

Since then, every time he got high, this was where he ended up. On occasion, _he_ didn't even give Dan drugs first. 

Dan never protested. He couldn't. What could he say? No, I don't want to, leave me alone! was just an invitation for a beating.

Although, a beating might be preferable to this, but...If he refused, then he might be left alone again.

Dan was so lonely. He didn't want _him_ to go away, even if _he_ was the scum of the Earth.

"You're such a fun toy, Dan-chan," _he _purred.

Dan winced, bit back a cry of pain. Held back the tears that wanted to spill...held back his screams. If he started screaming he might never be able to stop.

"You'll never speak a word of this to anyone, will you?"

Dan shook his head. No, of course he would never tell...How could he? 

Who would even believe him, anyway?

Help me! Please, someone...help me...

~~~~~


	3. Part 2

Part 2

"Dan Taichi?"

Dan looked up, and blinked. The person looming over him looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place him. That bothered him; the face was _really_ familiar, he should know this person...

It was the drugs again, messing with his mind.

"Is it really you?"

Dan nodded. Something clicked. Orange hair...

"I didn't even know you'd come to this high school!" the familiar guy exclaimed. "You should have come looking for me! We could have talked about old times, and all that. There's only a half a year left before I graduate, you know, and I might be leaving after that."

"Um..."

"You look kind of tired, are you okay?" the orange-haired boy leaned in closer. Dan shuffled away. He ate lunch out here by himself every day to avoid _them_. He didn't want to be alone, but he wanted to be able to eat without them trying to shove the food down his throat. They liked to play "Feed the Dan."

"Who are you?" Dan finally asked. He couldn't find the name in his foggy memory.

"What, have you forgotten Lucky Sengoku already?"

Oh, yeah. Sengoku...tennis...junior high...

"Go away," Dan said. He lowered his face into his arms. He didn't want to look up at the cheerful orange-haired boy any longer. He was afraid he might start crying. He always cried.

"Hey, is something wrong?"

"Go away," Dan Taichi repeated.

Sengoku was baffled. He remembered Dan as the cute little kid, who tried to collect data with the best of them. He remembered a cheerful kid who chased Akutsu around like he was some kind of god, and played tennis like a cute little angel. A boy who had said "desu" at the end of every sentence, even when it was completely inappropriate. 

The boy sitting out here by himself with his head in his arms did not resemble that Dan at all. Not with the dark circles under his eyes, the bruise on his cheek...The hollow look in his once bright eyes.

What had happened?

"Just...go away."

Was Dan crying? Sengoku couldn't see his face, but he could hear it in his voice.

"Dan-kun..."

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Dan Taichi yelled. He got to his feet, and scrambled off somewhere. 

Sengoku stared after him.

What the _hell_ had happened to him?

~~~~~

Sengoku still talked to Akutsu, sometimes. He had Akutsu's number, and he liked to call it when he was bored. Akutsu was fun to harrass, and once or twice they'd actually entered into a decent conversation. It was nice to keep in touch with the people he had once played tennis with.

Actually, the only one he hadn't kept in touch with was Dan Taichi.

"Akutsu-kun!" Sengoku chirped into the phone, when the other answered with a grunt.

"Oh, it's you."

"I ran into the kid today!"

"Kid?"

"Dan Taichi-kun!"

"Oh, him."

"I think he's depressed," Sengoku said. "He seemed...different than he used to be."

"People change."

"Yeah, I know, but--"

"I haven't got time for this," Akutsu growled. 

"I thought you might be worried, since he used to be your charge and all."

"It's been two and a half years. I almost forgot about him, until you brought it up. That kid was annoying."

"He worshipped you. He might still talk to you, if you talked to him first."

"Why would I bother? I have to go."

Sengoku stared at the phone. 

He actually hung up on me. How cold.

He was a little shocked by Akutsu's reaction. Did he really not care at all? True, it had been two years, but...

Well, he was just going to have to do something about Dan himself. Somehow, he would find out what was going on. He was still pretty lucky, after all.

~~~~~

Dan Taichi was not easy to locate. It was fairly impossible to find the small boy among the vast throngs of first year students in the school. He tried asking random first years in the hallway, but they either shrugged or told him that they didn't know who this Dan Taichi was.

He was thoroughly frustrated by the time lunch rolled around. He tried looking for Dan outside, where he had found him the previous day, but he wasn't there.

Damn, damn, damn. Luck's running out, isn't it Kiyosumi? Gah. I knew this would happen, I knew it!

"Sengoku!"

Sengoku blinked, and turned at the sound of the familiar voice. It was a classmate of his; not one of his friends, but someone he talked to occasionally.

"What was the name of that guy you were looking for again? Your old tennis friend?"

"Dan Taichi."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. You know how Makoto and his crowd picked up one of the first years a while back?"

"Yes, but -- oh, shit." Sengoku forgot how to breathe for a few moments. The world seemed to turn different shades of grey. "Was that Dan-kun?"

"That's his name."

"Ah, thanks Shindo-kun," Sengoku said. 

Hidaka Makoto, the biggest trouble-maker...ever, as far as Sengoku could tell. He was an all-around bastard, and he was probably into the drug trade, though no one had ever been able to prove it.

That bastard's been manipulating Dan-kun for months. Why? What does he see in that cute little kid? Sengoku was furious. Unless...Dan-kun wanted to join him? Could he have really changed that much?

~~~~~


	4. Part 3

Part 3

This was not the first time Dan Taichi had coughed up blood.

"Dan-chan, what have I told you about disobeying me?" _he_ asked sweetly. "I told you that it would hurt!"

"I don't want to," Dan managed to choke out. This time, _he_ was going too far. 

"Don't you want a girl, Dan-chan? I know I do. I'll share her with you, as soon as you use that cute little face of yours to lure her to me."

"No."

"I'm giving you an order."

"I won't do it!"

"Then I'll make you." 

Dan Taichi closed his eyes so that he wouldn't be able to see the needle coming for him. He could still feel it, though. _They_ weren't gentle with him; why would they be? He was their pet, their toy, their slave...Why should they be gentle, when they were shooting him full of drugs?

They'd gotten him addicted, and sometimes they left him without, for days, so that he would come begging to them for a fix. He was dependant upon them for everything. He was...

Dan's mind went foggy as he entered the high.

No, I don't want to hurt anybody...I don't want anybody to hurt as much as I do...was his last coherent thought.

~~~~~

Sengoku was unsure of what to do about the situation. Obviously, Dan Taichi needed to be rescued, but how? He had no proof that Makoto was doing anything wrong, even though he most definitely was. How else to explain that hollow look in poor Dan-kun's eyes?

The only thing he could do was ask Dan directly what was going on.

And before he could do that, he had to find Dan first.

He shouldn't have worried about that -- he was lucky Sengoku, after all. Just as he was thinking how impossible it was going to be, he ran smack into Dan Taichi in the hallway.

"Dan-kun! Lucky! I wanted to talk to you!" Sengoku said.

"I don't want to talk to you," Dan said, icily. "Not to someone who never cared."

"What?" Sengoku blinked. That didn't make much sense to him. What was Dan talking about?

"None of you ever cared, did you?" Dan asked. "Not one damn bit!" Tears were forming in his eyes.

"Not one _fucking_ bit!"

Sengoku found it odd that Dan Taichi even knew any profanities.

"That's not true," he said. "We cared. Well, I did. I thought you were cute, so I tried to watch out for you."

Dan started to laugh. It was a frightening sort of laugh; the sort that comes out of someone who has lost their mind.

"That's so fucking generous! Well, you know what? I'm not cute anymore, so you don't have to bother even talking to me! Do you feel relieved? Well, I'm glad!"

"Dan-kun..."

"Get out of my face!"

There was something wrong with Dan's eyes. There was something weird about the crazy way he was acting.

"Dan-kun, are you...high?"

"Yeah, I'm touching the goddamn sky!" Dan exclaimed. "I..."

Sengoku rushed forward when he saw the small boy sway. He caught Dan in his arms before he could hit the ground.

What did you do to him, Hidaka Makoto? Whatever it was, you're going to pay for this, Sengoku swore, as he carried his burden away.

~~~~~

Dan Taichi awoke in a bed that was not his own, and not Makoto's. He had no idea of where he was, and for a moment, he was both terrified and relieved at the thought that he might finally be dead.

"Finally awake?"

No, he wasn't dead. A face appeared, a worried-looking face.

"Sengoku-sempai? What am I doing here?"

"You passed out at school, so I brought you home. It's not good to do that sort of thing at lunch, you know."

Dan blushed in shame. "I didn't really have much of a choice," he said, voice barely audible.

"I know that something's going on with Hidaka, so why don't you tell me about it?" Sengoku said. "I'll help you get away from him."

"Who said I wanted to get away from him? Who ever said that I wanted your help?" Dan Taichi demanded. No, he wasn't going to let Sengoku get involved...He didn't want anyone getting involved in this mess. He didn't want anyone to get hurt...

Why was Sengoku bothering, anyway? Why would he give a shit, one way or the other?

"Dan-kun--"

"Stop pretending to be nice to me!" Dan cried. He buried his face in his hands. 

"I'm not pretending. I'm this nice in real life, you know." Sengoku took hold of Dan's wrists, so that he could uncover Dan's face. 

Dan Taichi looked into the first friendly smiling face he'd seen in a long time.

"You're in a bad state right now. I want to help you. Tell me about him, won't you? I'll listen."

"Sengoku-sempai..."

"Why did you join him? Did he threaten you?"

"Sengoku-sempai!" Dan Taichi could not stand this any longer. He couldn't stand the kindness being offered. It hurt too much; a good kind of hurt, the kind that he wanted to last forever. The kind of hurt that would heal all of his wounds, if given the chance. He threw himself into Sengoku's arms, and he began to cry. He cried until he had no tears left. Sengoku held him all the while.

~~~~~

"He said he wanted to be my friend."

Sengoku started. It had been silent for so long, he thought that Dan Taichi had fallen asleep again.

"He told me that he would let me join his group, and we could all have fun together. It was okay at first, then after a couple of weeks, he started ordering me around. His friends all think it's fun. I became their pet...their toy."

"Dan-kun..."

"I'm not a toy!" Dan Taichi's fists were clenched. He was shaking. Sengoku wanted to hold him again, but he was afraid that if he did, Dan would start crying again, and he wouldn't finish his story. 

"I'm not a toy...They started making me do things I didn't want to. I tried to refuse, but they would beat me really badly, and...Then they started..." Dan shuddered. He rolled up one of his sleeves, to show Sengoku the puncture wounds in his arm.

Sengoku couldn't even imagine having to go through something like that. He'd had an easy life, he realized. For the first time, he realized what luck really was; not a silly nickname -- but being able to live your life without any real heartache.

"I'm addicted. I can't stay away from the drugs, and they're the only ones who can give it to me, and..." Dan trailed off.

"And?" Sengoku knew that he had to get this off his chest. He didn't want to hear anymore; it hurt too much to listen to. He didn't want to imagine how much it hurt to live through. He really wanted to lock Dan Taichi away somewhere, somewhere where no one could ever lay a finger on him again.

"And if they leave me, I'll be all alone again..." The tears started again.

This time, Sengoku held him. Held him, and swore never to let go.

~~~~~

Sengoku rubbed his eyes. He wondered what time it was.

Shit, I fell asleep!

Dan was gone. There was a note on the pillow.

"Thank you for everything, Sengoku-sempai, but I have to go back to him."

"Damn it!" Sengoku rushed out of his house. He hoped that Dan had not been gone for very long. He wanted to catch up to him, and save him. Save him from everything.

Damn you, Hidaka! He was just a lonely kid, and you ruined him! I'll never forgive you for this.

~~~~~


	5. Part 4

A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed, and anyone who loves Dan, because he's adorable...Oh, and I'm sorry that Akutsu was a bastard and did absolutely nothing, but that's just the way he wanted to be, I guess.

This was originally the last part, but a couple people asked (demanded) for more, so I complied. An epilogue follows. 

Part 4

"Were you trying to avoid us, Dan-chan?" Makoto kicked Dan's fallen form. He let out a groan.

"No..." he wheezed.

"You were with that Sengoku guy. I saw him carry you off," Makoto sneered. "You been having an affair with him? You think he's better than me?"

"No!"

"That's right, because no one is better than me!"

Makoto kicked him again. 

"Just remember that I own you, Dan Taichi, and you'll never escape me. Come on, guys, let's go," Makoto said. He and his gang left Dan Taichi lying broken in the street.

"No, don't leave me alone..." Dan Taichi pleaded, but Makoto was already gone.

The world around him grew dark.

~~~~~

"Dan-kun! Dan-kun!"

Dan tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were surprisingly heavy. "Who...?" he managed to say, but it was barely above a whisper. His throat hurt. Every part of him hurt. He was not unused to feeling that way; just unused to having someone call his name in a worried voice.

Is it an angel, come to save me? Is someone going to rescue me, now?

"Dan-kun!"

Dan finally managed to open his eyes, and there was Sengoku; with a terribly worried expression on his face.

"Sengoku...sempai..."

"Did _he_ do this to you?" Sengoku demanded.

"Yes...He thought I was...with you..."

"Damn it! I'm so sorry, Dan-kun, this is my fault!" Sengoku exclaimed. He'd only wanted to help, but he'd ended up causing Dan more pain in the end. 

"No...no it isn't," Dan said. He tried to sit up, but it hurt too much.

"Dan-kun. I want to help you," Sengoku said. "I want this to stop. I don't want to see you like this anymore."

"What can I do?" Dan asked. "What can I possibly do?"

Sengoku reached out a hand. "If you tell the police all about it, they'll put him away. Don't worry, I won't let anyone hurt you anymore, Dan-kun."

Dan Taichi stared at the hand being offered.

"But...I'll be alone. He'll be gone, and there will be no one left...He hurts me, but he's all I have!"

"Dan-kun, he's not all you have," Sengoku said, gently. "Just take my hand now, and I'll never leave you. I promise."

Dan's small hand gripped Sengoku's. "Sengoku-sempai...I've been so lonely..." A sob escaped him, followed by another, and another...until he was crying almost hysterically. Sengoku knelt down, and put his arms around the smaller boy. Dan clung to him for all he was worth. It hurt to be held in his state, but it didn't hurt as much as being left alone.

"Shh, it's all right now. I'm with you, you don't have to be lonely anymore."

"B-but what about when you...g-graduate?" Dan's speech was punctuated by hiccups.

"I'll stay by you, don't worry. I'll be your friend no matter what."

"You said you were leaving."

"I said I might." Sengoku smiled. "Don't worry. You don't have to worry anymore."

For the first time in a long time, Dan Taichi let himself relax. There was a long road ahead of him. He would have to deal with the police, and tell them all about Makoto's gang; he would probably have to go to court, too. He might even get in trouble for some of the things that he had been forced to do. After that...He would have to suffer through withdrawal from all the drugs he'd been taking.

All of that would be worth it, though, because someone who cared about him would be with him all the way.

"Thank you, Sengoku-sempai."

"Ah, you don't have to thank me, Taichi-kun." Sengoku smiled. It was a smile that Dan Taichi would never forget, for it was the smile of his guardian angel...

His true friend. 


	6. Part 5

A/N: It seems that when people ask for more, I feel all special, and write more. Ah, I want to help Dan through his troubles. *cuddles him* I think I've said this before, but I don't know much about how the law works in Japan...but I think Makoto deserves some punishment, so let's put him away, shall we? I believe that this is really the end this time. It feels more like the end, anyway.

Part 5

"Please...I want that..." It was hard to think properly, as the world around him spun. He wanted, he _needed_ the drugs, but the person he was begging for them was not listening. Why was Makoto refusing him? He'd always given him the drugs before...he'd always shoved needles into Dan's arm, and Dan had tried to refuse them, and...

Oh. It wasn't Makoto he was clinging to, it was Sengoku; and there was no way that Sengoku was going to let him have any drugs, not even when he was desperately begging for them.

Dan knew on some level that he didn't want to depend on the drugs anymore, but oh, this withdrawal was harder than he'd thought...

"Give them to me!" He started pounding his fists against the person with him...what was his name again? It didn't matter. He just wanted that injection, that would make him feel better...that would release him from this torment...

"Taichi. Shh, I'm with you. Don't worry, this will pass. I promise, this will pass."

Sengoku was holding him, stroking his hair. Dan realized he had started crying at some point. There was someone else in the room; a doctor, maybe. He couldn't remember much right now. All he wanted was that needle, with the good stuff...oh...It hurt!

"Sengoku-sempai!"

"Taichi, it's okay." How many times had he forced Sengoku to say that? Sengoku wasn't even using that annoying habit of calling him whatever-kun. He was just speaking to Dan's heart, trying to heal him...

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"You don't have to be."

That touched Dan's heart like nothing else could have. He relaxed a bit. He let the wave of pain wash over him; let the craving eat him alive. He would survive through it, he knew he would, as long as Sengoku kept sitting here with him. 

Everything would be all right, soon.

"Thank you..." He curled up against Sengoku, and he went to sleep. In sleep, there was no pain.

~~~~~

By the time that Dan Taichi no longer needed drugs anymore, Hidaka Makoto was in a terrible lot of trouble. All his goings-on had been revealed; all his drug-pushing, robbery, and even rape were out in the open. Some of his former victims spoke up after Dan went to the police. He gave them courage.

Dan was miserable through the entire thing. He didn't feel at all brave; he felt like he was going to die at any minute. He had nightmares about _him_ sneaking into his house at night and strangling him, or beating him to death, or...any number of things that made him wake up, screaming.

Sengoku was always there by his side, though. Sengoku had promised never to leave him alone.

Dan prayed that the nightmares would stop soon, but they got worse when he had to attend court sessions, and speak up against Makoto. He had to testify to everything that he knew. His voice shook, and he cried, but he told them everything. He had to. He wasn't going to let _him_ destroy any more lives.

He didn't want anyone to feel the way he did, right now.

After what seemed like years (though in reality it was only a few months) Makoto got sent away to juvenile hall, hopefully where he would remain until he was either redeemed (which seemed very unlikely to poor little Dan) or he was old enough to be sent elsewhere. Dan never wanted to see his face ever again.

Except his face was everywhere in Dan's nightmares. They did not go away, even when he knew he was safe. He didn't feel safe at all. He didn't think he would ever feel safe again.

Through everything, though, Sengoku was always beside him. He promised never to leave him alone. In the daylight, Sengoku could make the nightmares go away, simply by saying, "You're not alone, Taichi-kun. You'll never be alone again."

Dan wanted desperately to believe it, but he couldn't. He had lost the ability to truly believe in anything. He knew that Sengoku was going to be gone soon. Once he was finished high school, Dan would be all alone in a sea of people.

He would be all alone again.

In the darkness of his room, Dan Taichi wept. He'd thought for a fleeting moment that he could be happy, but there was no hope left now. It was too late. 

He was too tired to contemplate suicide. He hoped that in the morning, Sengoku's cheerful smile would help him to forget his misery for long enough that he wouldn't want to contemplate it the next day.

~~~~~

Sengoku was graduating. Dan was there to watch, and he though he tried to smile, he could not. There was no disguising his misery. Soon, he would be all alone again. Soon, he would be back to the pathetic little boy he had been; the pathetic little boy that had been picked up by Hidaka Makoto. The pathetic little boy that Hidaka Makoto had destroyed.

"Taichi-kun! You look so glum."

Dan tried to force a smile. "I'm not glum, Sengoku-sempai!"

"You can't hide your feelings from me, Taichi-kun."

Dan looked down at his feet. "You're leaving me, now. I'm just feeling a little lonely."

Sengoku lifted Dan's chin with gentle fingers. "I told you I wouldn't leave you, and I meant it. I'm not going anywhere."

"But--" 

"I'll stay in the city, and I'll see you every day. I won't let you be alone anymore. I promised you, didn't I? I always keep my promises, or else I'd be unlucky, wouldn't I?"

The old joke actually made Dan grin. "You'll really stay?"

"Of course I will. I have to be with my adorable Taichi-kun, don't I?"

Dan Taichi blushed. Adorable? "You're silly sometimes, Sengoku-sempai."

"I was only telling the truth." Sengoku gave a smile that made Dan's heart sing.

Maybe he wouldn't be alone, after all.

~~~~~

Sengoku kept his promise, and kept it well. He came to pick up Dan after school every day. He arranged his schedule around Dan, to make sure that he wasn't lonely.

Eventually, Dan learned to trust people again. Sengoku taught him that the world wasn't as dark and cruel as Hidaka Makoto; not all of it, anyway.

Dan made new friends. Real friends this time, that liked him because of the adorable boy he was, not because he was easily manipulated. He started to spend a little more time with them, and a little less time with Sengoku. He didn't want to have to depend on Sengoku like he had been; he wanted them to be equal. He wanted to be able to be Sengoku's friend, not a clingy little nuisance who needed him to live.

Dan Taichi became stronger. It was gradual, but it happened.

~~~~~

About halfway through Dan's second year of high school, Sengoku said something out of the blue that gave him pause for thought.

"You should ask that cute girl out!"

Dan blinked. "What?"

"The cute girl you just introduced me to!" Sengoku said. "What was her name?"

"Kira. But I don't know what you're talking about. Why would I ask her out?"

Sengoku laughed. "You're clueless, Taichi-kun! Every teenaged boy wants a girlfriend, right?"

Dan hadn't really thought about it before. He'd never had the opportunity to think about it. When Sengoku mentioned, he started thinking about it.

He came to the conclusion that no, he didn't want a girlfriend. Kira was a very nice girl, and they got along well, but he didn't want to date her. She liked someone else anyway, but that wasn't the point.

Somewhere along the line when Dan had stopped depending on Sengoku, he had developed some stronger feelings for him. He was extremely grateful for everything Sengoku had done for him, and even more grateful that they could still be such good friends after it was all over. The whole incident was a looming shadow in the past, but it faded more and more each day.

And every day, Dan realized a little bit more just why he still wanted to spend so much time with Sengoku.

~~~~~

Near the end of Dan's second year in high school, he said something that gave Sengoku pause for thought.

"I don't really want a girlfriend."

Sengoku blinked. "What brought that up?"

"A couple of months ago, you mentioned it. I took some time to think it over."

Sengoku shrugged. "Well, it's your life. It's up to you."

"I know. I...I kind of like someone, but I don't know what they think about me, especially since..."

Sengoku's curiosity came alive. "Since what?" he asked.

"Well, since a lot happened, and he probably thinks of me as the cute little kid that he rescued."

"He..." It took a few moments for all of that to sink it. It was a bit of a surprise to hear such an open confession out of the blue like this. 

Dan couldn't look Sengoku in the eye. "I mean, at first I really depended on you, but I think I'm stronger now. I've learned how to survive, and how to make friends, and I'm really not lonely anymore. That was all your doing, and...well, I'm really thankful..."

"Isn't that all you're feeling?"

Dan shook his head. "I thought maybe it was, but I don't think so."

He looked so sad, as though he was expecting rejection. Sengoku had a surprise for him.

"Well, at first I thought of you as the adorable kid that needed rescuing, but after everything was over, and the real you had a chance to surface..." Sengoku grinned. "I found out that you're quite the charmer."

Dan finally looked up. He was blushing like mad. He always blushed when Sengoku gave him a compliment.

"I didn't want to take advantage of you, because I knew you were depending on me. Something like that could never work." 

"I know it wouldn't, but I..." Dan blushed more. "You're the most important person to me, you know? My best friend, and I..."

Sengoku grinned more. "You're so _cute_, Taichi. You really made me fall in love with you."

Sengoku felt sure that Dan's head was going to burst any second; it was certainly red enough.

"Ah, Sengoku-sempai...don't tease me so much!"

"I like it when you blush, though." Sengoku moved forward, and wrapped his arms around Dan, in a tight embrace. "Let's stay together, all right?"

Dan nodded. "Forever, right? You promise."

"I know I did, and I'm going to keep that promise."

Dan was finally happy. He was going to be able to move forward into the future and put all the bad things behind him; and he was going to be able to go into that future with the one person who mattered the most to him.

"Thank you for everything," he whispered. Sengoku only held him tighter.

~fin~


End file.
